Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tomorrow We Fast

I have been wondering what to do about the earthquake, tsunami and possible nuclear meltdown in Japan and what to do about Libya. I have wanted to write about it but it all seems rather superficial, so tomorrow in our parish we are having a day of prayer and fasting for the people of Japan and any others need.
I am offering Mass for them and we will pray for them at the end of the day with Exposition and Benediction.

The Lord tells us our prayer is heard when we ask in his name, when two or three of us pray for anything, and when we fast and pray.
So why not join your prayer to ours?

The difference between fasting and abstinence is that fasting is about not eating or restricting our intake of food; abstinence is about abstaining from certain types of food. The great benefit of doing both in Lent is that changing our diet tends to make us feel different, it produces a spiritual gear change. For example following the ancient discipline of abstaining from flesh and dairy products, the old "black fast" is a real jolt to the system, I actually feel better on it, more energy, more control over my thoughts, a heightened desire for prayer, it is good try it.

Someone once told me that:When your belly is full, it's easy to be a good person.When you haven't already just prayed 15 decades of the Rosary, it's easy to pray the Stations of the Cross.When you've not just made a large donation to a charity, it's easy to make a large donation to another charity.

Lent strips away our comforting fog and shows us who we really are, warts and all. And then the Resurrection shows us what God wants us to reach out and take, as His freely-given gift.

Are there any days in Lent when we are specifically told not to fast? I was thinking about feasts and solemnitites.I know that on Sundays in the early Church people still abstained from flesh and dairy (although without actually fasting). I'm attempting the black fast too, but wondered if we get any days off!

Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia, et ubi ecclesia vita eterna

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